Peter Theodore Craven was born on the 21st of June 1934 in Norris Green, Liverpool and had four sisters and an older brother, Brian, who would also become a speedway rider. The family lived at 24 Prestbury Road, Norris Green and Peter attended Ranworth Square Primary School and later Abbotsford Road Senior School, before, at the age of aged 13, attending Walton Technical College. He got his first taste of motorcycle speedway racing in 1949 at the Stanley Stadium, Prescot Road, Liverpool. Visiting the stadium a day after his sixteenth birthday, he drove a few laps on his brother's bike before hitting the safety fence and sustaining a concussion. Fortunate to be working as a motorcycle mechanic in a garage run by ex-speedway rider Charlie Oates who gave him training sessions, he progressed well and was soon riding for the Liverpool Chads team who were in the Second Division of the National League making eight appearances for them. He also rode for the Fleetwood Flyers and, after the Chads became defunct, he raced for the Belle Vue Aces, making his debut on the 17th of May 1952, joining them officially in 1953, after he had been dividing his appearances between them both. During his two years national service he regularly travelled at weekends from his army camp to keep up his racing.
During 1954 he made 24 league appearances and top-scored for his club, rapidly improving as a rider, breaking lap records at Manchester, and becoming the Ace’s leading rider as they finished in second place in the 1955 season. At the end of the season, against all the odds, and aged just 21, he became World Champion on the 15th of September in front of a crowd of 54,000 at Wembley Stadium. In 1958, Peter captained the English team against Sweden in Sweden, finishing top scorer; he also top-scored in the five-test series against Australasia. In 1959 he won the Golden Helmet Match Race Championship; the Champions of Champions Cup at Poole; the Northern Cup at Belle Vue; the Internationale Derby at Ipswich and the Pride of the East at Norwich, amongst many others. At the end of 1959 Peter travelled to Australia where he spent the 1959/60 Australian season and proved to be a popular rider in Adelaide. In 1960 he came third in the World Championship Final staged at Wembley and during 1961 captained the Lions on a tour to Austria. Coming close to gaining the title on several occasions, his second World Championship victory came on the 8th of September 1962, again at Wembley, this time with 62,000 watching on. This followed his three British Championship victories as he rode for the England international team 47 times.
In 1963 his Belle Vue team at last broke the stranglehold of Wembley and Wimbledon and won the National League, but the season was to be marred by a terrible tragedy. Friday the 20th of September 1963 saw the Aces racing in a challenge match at the Old Meadowbank stadium in Edinburgh. In the fourth heat Peter was just behind Edinburgh rider George Hunter when the Scotsman's engine seized and his back wheel locked. Peter swerved to avoid him, clipped his opponent’s machine and crashed into the barrier fence. He was rushed to Edinburgh Infirmary where he died the following Tuesday on the 24th of September. His brother Brian, who was racing for Newcastle Diamonds, retired immediately from speedway.
The diminutive Peter Craven was just 5 feet 2 inches tall and was arguably England’s best ever speedway rider. Known variously as the 'Mighty Atom' and 'Pocket Rocket', he was seen as quite fearless, and unlike most of his contemporaries, as he neither smoked nor drank, he was a regular at the gym. A modest, quiet man, he was renowned for his kindness to both fellow riders and fans.
Peter Craven's son Robert was also a speedway rider.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/08/merseyside-for-sport-ronnie-moran.html
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